We were thrilled to win Decanter magazine’s coveted Specialist Merchant award last autumn and we must be getting something right here at Yapp Brothers because we have been nominated for awards in no fewer than 4 categories in the forthcoming International Wine Challenge 2010: Rhône Wine Merchant of the Year, Loire Wine Merchant of the Year, French Regional Wine Merchant of the Year and South-West of England Wine Merchant of the Year.

International Wine Challenge awards 2010

The results will be announced at a gala dinner at the Park Lane Hilton on 7th September – the judges for the 2010 awards are the IWC co-chairmen Tim Atkin MW, Sam Harrop MW, Charles Metcalfe and Derek Smedley MW. These will be joined by Laura Jewell MW, Spar UK Ltd., Simon Thorpe MW, Negociants UK Ltd., David Cox, NZ Winegrowers and Rowan Gormley.

Personally I can’t wait to thank my Mum, my Dad my colleagues here at Yapp Brothers our wine maker friends in France, our loyal customers, my shrink, my dog, my dog’s shrink, anybody else who knows me and both of the people who read this blog!

Fred Filliatreau at Yapp Brothers

While Fred Filliatreau was over visiting last month, we had the pleasure of a staff tasting at Mere of six of his wines from recent vintages all of which were showing really well. We’re not the only ones to think so judging from the recent press accolades for Cuvée Domaine Filliatreau 2008 and Vieilles Vignes 2007 in the Spectator and Telegraph Weekend magazines respectively.

Fred’s illuminating commentary as we tasted helped put the wines in the context of a formidable winemaking lineage. Fred joined his father Paul in 1990, who himself was largely responsible for modernising the Saumur Champigny appellation in terms of winemaking practices in the 70′s as well as creating a strong sense of community in the local winemaking fraternity. Robin Yapp first bought his wines in 1976. Fred has continued to be a driving force in the Appellation, championing organic methods of cultivation: Saumur Champigny was the first French appellation to promote a biodiversity programme in the vineyards, including forbidding the use of herbicides and encouraging the study of weather patterns.

He is rigorous in his insistence on low yields and produces beautifully balanced, well-crafted and elegant wines. Fermented between 15 and 30 days, depending on the cuvée, in thermostatically-controlled stainless steel vats, the aim is to produce light, fruity and refreshing wines that are designed primarily for enjoyable drinking now but which have distinct style differences between the cuvées. All the wines lend themselves to chilling but perhaps the Cuvée Domaine Filliatreau especially.

Here are my notes from the tasting:

Château Fouquet 2009

13% abv (alcohol by volume). Vines planted in 1987 east of Saumur in the commune of Brézé on chalky-clay soil and one of the best terroirs of the appellation. Organically produced, well-balanced, with medium body and length with excellent concentration of ripe fruit (brambles) and supple tannins. Very well-balanced and drinking now but has potential to age up to10 years. With age it will become spicier. A great food wine creating a fresh sensation in the mouth. More forward drinking than the 2008.

Château Fouquet 2008

Delicious aroma of violets and ripe dark berries. More vegetal and savoury on the palate than the 09. Will age up to 5 years. As with all cuvées the grapes are hand-harvested and with Château Fouquet, the limit per basket load is 20 kgs so that the grapes don’t get crushed allowing the juice to oxidise.

Cuvée Domaine Filliatreau 2008

12.5% abv. From parcels of vines, approx. 20 years old on chalky-clay soil around the village of Chaintres. Biggest selling wine by volume to the restaurant trade-especially Paris. Fruit from 25 year-old vines. Grapes macerated for 15 days in stainless steel. Versatile, peppery, fresh and fruity, supple tannins. Drink young and between 12˚ and 14˚C.

La Grande Vignolle 2008

12.5% abv. Grapes are harvested from 45 year-old vines on chalky subsoil. Macerated for 20 days in stainless steel. Spicy on the nose. Medium body with great silky texture. Great balance with integrated fruit, tannins and acidity. Big seller in both the UK and the US (where they like it unfiltered).

La Grande Vignolle 2007

12.5% abv. 2007 was a complicated vintage with lots of rain in the summer. Savoury on the nose and quite restrained on the palate but extremely well-balanced with copious ripe bramble fruit and acidity and tannins to match. Well-matured, medium-weight and not too concentrated. Vestigial green pepper aromas but well-integrated with a pure fruit core.

Vieilles Vignes 2007

12.5% abv. Fruit from 80 year-old vines. Sherry, raspberries, pepper and spice on the nose. Delicious velvety texture and well-integrated fruit on the palate. Mid-weight and good length. Drinking very well and would be excellent with roast lamb but steer clear of the mint sauce!

The Marseilles Trilogy

If, like me, you have a penchant for a noir crime novel and are partial to the food and wine of Provence you should make a bee-line for Jean-Claude Izzo’s peerless ‘Marseilles Trilogy’, published (in style and in English) by Europa Editions and excellently translated by Howard Curtis. The dark underbelly of Marseilles is exposed therein with insight and affection and it is littered with references to the local wine and cuisine. Izzo was born in Marseilles, to Italian immigrant parents, in 1945 and the soul of the city is infused in his writing. He died in 2000 aged 55 having achieved fame in the 1990s with the publication of 3 novels featuring retired cop Fabio Montale. Collectively known as the ‘Marseilles Trilogy’ the books draw heavily on Izzo’s upbringing in Marseilles, national service in Djibouti (where he worked as a photographer and journalist for a military newspaper) and early career in the book trade.

Jean-Claude Izzo 1945-2000

Food and drink were clearly important to Izzo as he draws the reader into details few novelists would consider. How to make the perfect pistou soup, bouillabaisse and aïoli are debated at length and the numerous references to wine are precise and clearly based on a deep personal knowledge – “I put down two litres of red wine from the estate of Villeneuve Flayosc, in Rouquefort-la-Bédoule. A wine a Breton friend named Michel had introduced to us the previous winter. Château-les-Mûres. Really delicious.” Pleasingly, on page 102 of the final book ‘Solea’ our Vieux Marc Égrappé [£29.95 since you ask] gets a mention: “Fonfon had brought along a bottle of Bunan. An old stemmed marc from La Cadière, near Bandol. “Taste this,” he said. “It’ll make a change from that Scotch of yours.” It was delicious. Quite different from my Lagavulin with its slightly peaty taste. The Bunan was dry, but extremely fruity, smelling of scrubland. By the time I’d won two games of rummy and lost eight, I’d already enjoyed four little glasses of it.”Izzo’s other great passion was music and his catholic tastes encompassed everything from jazz to rap, reggae and Neapolitan folk. Again the referencing is incredibly detailed but it’s the food and wine descriptions that really stay with you: “Her bouillabaisse was one of the best in Marseilles. Scorpion fish, gurnard, conger, dory, angler fish, weever, pandora, rainbow wrasse…A few crabs, too, and sometimes a lobster. Only rock fish. That’s what made it different. And for the sauce, she had a particular genius for combining garlic and peppers with potatoes and sea urchin. But her bouillabaisse was never on the menu. You had to phone regularly to know when she was making it.”

If that doesn’t stimulate your appetite for a Provençal feast then you are probably best off sticking to the latest Dan Brown but if you really want to transport yourself to the bars and terraces of the Vieux Port and the Panier then Izzo is in a class of his own.

“What makes [Izzo's] work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles, and the way the memory and obligation haunt every step his hero takes.”

The New Yorker

Caravan - North Wales

For as long as I can remember I’ve taken holidays in the wilds of North Wales and  growing up in the Midlands I’m sure I’m not alone in this experience. It’s a place of breathtaking beauty and extremes – if the sun shines its idyllic however if it decides to rain, its well, the reverse.

My parents have a static caravan that has to still be painted green to ‘blend in’ with the country side on the North coast of the Llynn peninsula, it’s nearly all owned by the National Trust so it’s a case of no (white) blots on the landscape.

I spent my childhood on the spectacular beaches and now my children do the same – nothing appears to have changed in the last 40 years and all still seems reassuringly familiar.

On heading off last week I had packed my holiday wines – I’d not tempted fate and had my usual selection of southern Rhone reds – no whites or rosé, as that would have suggested that I was expecting the sun to shine at least once during the week and recent experience had indicated warming reds would be more appropriate.

I suspected that my Welsh wine experience would be a fairly solitary one but once you’ve got wine under your skin it seems to appear when you least expect it. We met another family with small children on the camp site (again borrowing their parents caravan and with a good 20 years of holidaying there under their belt) and during a chat over an impromptu BBQ Jeremy asked if I’d like a drink – and then went on to say, I really only drink wine and I love French wine – small world. So, we set about my holiday consignment and over the next few days we dispatched my Vacqueyras: Cuvée Spéciale 2003, Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau: Saint Gayan 2006 and a few others, including my last bottle of Vin de Pays Duché d’Uzès: Camp Galhan Pérassière 2007 that I’d left there from my last visit.

Slate - Blaenau Ffestiniog

Later in the week we were on a small beach called Towyn that has always had a small shop (or ‘shed’) on the cliff top that sells ice creams and other beach paraphernalia – but this year had diversified into general random Welsh products – I’ve always liked the ‘unusual’ so was intrigued to see, for want of a better word,  a “lump” of Welsh slate by the assorted Ben 10 surf boards – but slate with 3 holes drilled through that I decided had to be made for wine – and it was!

The slate was from the, now closed, Blaenau Ffestiniog quarry so there was never going to be another one – in the same way that wine vintages can never be repeated it was a must have – my wife was not as keen it has to be said – but anyway it’s now safely back in Wiltshire.

So, once you’ve got the wine bug – it catches you out when you least expect it!

A potentially thorny question for those of us in the wine trade is: What on earth to serve visiting wine makers? Last week I had not one but two wine-makers to stay and so had ample opportunity to ponder this dilemma. The short answer is: Nothing from their own back yard and certainly not their own wine unless it’s part of an elaborate ruse.

Fred Filliatreau

My first guest was Fredrik Filliatreau, from Saumur Champigny, who I’ve known for years and is a close family friend. Fred was purporting to be in the UK on business and any rumours that he was actually over for a spot of chalk-stream fly fishing on the river Wylye should be ignored. Having been President of the appellation of Saumur Champigny while still in his thirties Fred is an authority on Cabernet Franc so that (and all Loire wines for good measure) were strictly off the menu. We served him a Corsican rosé from Domaine Saparale as an aperitif which seemed to meet with approval. The only problem being my thirsty neighbours who can hear a cork pop at 50 metres and are particularly partial to sophisticated saignant wines. To be fair they are a very jolly bunch and they entertained Fred with aplomb while Pippa and I faffed about in the kitchen. We then sampled a nervy Neagles Rock Riesling, in the newly shipped 2009 vintage, with a simple crab salad, followed by an organic red Côtes de Luberon, Château la Canorgue with a slow-cooked leg of lamb ‘boulanger’. With a selection of English cheeses (from our local fromage-pusher Paul at Sagebury Cheese in Frome), including my new favourite ‘Danegeld’ made by Jamie Montgomery (do try it), we had a bottle of Gigondas 1990 from Domaine Saint Gayan. This majestic old Grenache was (like me) showing its age but it made a fine end to fun evening and we all retired to bed at a fairly sensible hour.

Dan Buckle

Two days later ace Aussie wine-maker Dan Buckle, from the celebrated, Mount Langi Ghiran estate in Victoria, descended upon us prior to the wedding of some mutual friends. Dan was somewhat less of a vinous challenge as he is a keen Francophile with limited access to French wines in his native Australia. We served Dan a sparkling Loire rosé ‘Cuvée les Tonnelles’ from Domaine Aubert, enlivened with a soupçon of Sirop de Pamplemousse Rose from Domaine Combier in Saumur, which we all agreed made a refreshing start to the evening. With our starter of steamed English asparagus we had a taut young Reuilly 2009 from Gérard Cordier followed by a roast chicken that I couldn’t resist pairing with the 2007 ‘Vieilles Vignes’ Cuvée of Filliatreau Saumur Champigny – as Fred had stayed with us so recently. Dan had brought us some great cheeses from Neal’s Yard in Borough Market with which I struck lucky with a 1971 Saint Joseph from Rhône legend Ernest Trollat. I was correct in my guess that ’71 was Dan’s birth year and although he didn’t actually weep with gratitude he definitely looked a little misty in the corner of his eyes.

It was great to catch up with both Fred and Dan and I look forward to inflicting similar damage to their cellars when I next visit them in Saumur and Melbourne respectively.